Aluminum Recycling Process
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Types of Aluminum Recycled
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The most popular and convenient type of aluminum recycled today is found in soda cans. Many states offer a five-cent refund for each can turned in, giving people an incentive to recycle. Aluminum from tuna cans, soup cans and other canned goods can also be recycled through your regular neighborhood recycling program. These items are recycled the same way as aluminum soda cans; however the only difference is how they are picked up and sent to a recycling facility.
How Aluminum is Recycled
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Aluminum cans are gathered from recycling centers and sent to a scrap processing company where they are collected into large bales. The bales are then sent to an aluminum company where the cans are shredded, crushed, stripped and burned until they look like small potato chips. These chips are then sent into a furnace where they are melted with new, untouched aluminum and the two are melded together. The new aluminum is then poured out into sheets, and cut down into sheets 1/100th of an inch thick. The aluminum then cools, and is coiled up into large rolls and sent to can makers. The can makers then mold the aluminum into soda can shapes, and send them off to soda makers to bottle their beverage.
Soup cans, tuna cans and other canned goods are collected from your recycling plant and undergo the same process. However, most of these goods are made back into soup, tuna and canned goods, not soda cans. This particular metal is cut into thicker sheets and sent to the manufacturers in the same way.
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What Recycled Aluminum is Made Into
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Recycled aluminum cans are made into new soda cans that are replenished on store shelves within about 60 to 75 days. The turnaround time for using recycled aluminum cans is very quick, as is the turnaround time for soup and canned good cans. Recycled aluminum can also be made into auto parts, aircraft parts, cookware, boats, computers, wiring and bicycles. When the aluminum is rolled out into sheets, a manufacturer of a product can request that the sheet be cut to a specific thickness or density. This way when the recycled aluminum leaves the facility, it can be taken to their manufacturer and cut into the shape they need for their product.
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